You're spending 42 hours per campaign to do what one person does in 8. That's before you factor in the creator blacklists, rate benchmarks, and attribution models we've already built.
// Frequently Asked Questions
Before You Book a Call.
Honest answers. No corporate spin. Both sides of the table.
We'd rather answer these upfront than waste thirty minutes of a call. Questions below are grouped for brands deciding whether to hire us and for creators deciding whether to forward us a deal. If yours isn't here, email — we'll tell you the truth or forward you to someone who can.
+ 01 Still Skeptical?
Skepticism questions.
The ten objections we hear most. Answered straight.
They work with 500+ creators. We work with 50. They optimize for placements. We optimize for conversions. One senior person per account, with a capped number of active creator deals per senior so each negotiation gets run, not forwarded.
No catch. We keep clients because we perform — not because we trapped them in a 12-month agreement. Our average client stays 14+ months anyway.
You shouldn't — until you read the Letters. They're written from inside live campaigns. Zero fluff. If the way we think about creator marketing doesn't match yours, we're not the right fit.
No. YouTube doesn't guarantee views to anyone. Any agency that promises them is either lying or inflating. What we guarantee is the data we used to pick the creator.
We flag decline 11 days before public metrics show it. If a creator's audience shifts mid-campaign, you're the first to know — and we replace them inside the same contract.
You tried creatives without conversion data. That's like buying media without attribution. We don't do that.
Yes. Below $50K, the operational overhead costs more than the upside. Read the Letters while you scale — we'll be here when you're ready.
Every creator agency says they're selective. None are. We reject 70% of applicants and 40% of inbound brand leads. The name is a commitment, not a slogan.
Week 1: goal alignment + creator shortlist. Week 2: negotiations. Week 3: briefs + contracts. Week 4: first content live + attribution setup. Most clients see an intelligence flag in their first 30 days that would have cost them $10K+ without us.
+ 02 Is This For Me?
Fit questions.
Find out if we're the right match before we both spend time on a call.
Because we're not other agencies.
You get senior people, proprietary intelligence, and actual accountability for results. No junior account managers learning on your budget. No lists and disappearing acts.
Cheap agencies are expensive when they don't work. We're expensive upfront and valuable forever.
If budget is your primary filter, we're probably not the right fit. And that's okay.
2-6 weeks, depending on complexity.
Straightforward campaign with clear goals? 2-3 weeks. Multiple markets, specific creators, custom strategy? 4-6 weeks.
We move fast, but we won't sacrifice quality for speed. If you need 50 creators by Friday, we're not your agency.
No.
We've rejected creators with huge followings because they were difficult to work with, had fake engagement, or didn't fit our standards.
Our reputation depends on who we recommend. We don't risk it for anyone.
Also no.
We've said no to brands that didn't align with our values—and to brands that were clearly going to be a nightmare. Unrealistic expectations, disrespectful communication, treating creators as disposable.
We protect our creators as much as we protect our brand partners.
It sees what others can't.
We analyze data that isn't public—conversion patterns, competitor spending, audience sentiment, creator performance beyond surface metrics. Built in-house over years. Not something you can buy off the shelf.
We won't explain exactly how it works. That's our advantage. But when you work with us, it works for you.
Transparent.
We take a percentage on creator deals. You know exactly what it is before we start. No hidden fees, no surprise charges, no inflated creator rates to pad our margin.
We make more when you get better results. That's how it should be.
No.
No 12-month minimums. No exit penalties. If we're not delivering value, you should be able to leave.
Our retention is high because we're good—not because we're holding anyone hostage.
Small. On purpose.
Everyone senior. No layers of account managers and coordinators who don't know your campaign.
We work like a special ops team, not an army. Small, fast, precise.
Yes.
We can connect you with brands we've worked with. We don't hide behind NDAs and "confidential relationships."
If our work is good, our clients will tell you. If it's not, we shouldn't be hiding it.
We'll tell you.
If your needs don't match what we're good at, or if you'd be better served elsewhere, we'll say so. We'd rather lose a deal than take on a client we can't make successful.
That honesty is why our clients trust us.
+ 03 How It Works
Process questions.
How we work, how fast we move, and what to expect.
It varies significantly by tier and platform.
Micro-influencers (10K-100K subscribers): $500-$2,500 per integration.
Mid-tier creators (100K-500K): $2,500-$10,000 per video.
Top-tier gaming YouTubers (500K-2M): $10,000-$50,000 per video.
Elite creators (2M+): $50,000-$200,000+.
CPM benchmarks in gaming run $15-$40 for quality creators with engaged audiences. But CPM alone is misleading—conversion rates matter more.
Tech YouTubers command premium rates due to high-intent audiences.
Micro-tier (10K-100K): $1,000-$5,000
Mid-tier (100K-500K): $5,000-$25,000
Established tech reviewers (500K+): $25,000-$100,000+
Dedicated reviews cost 2-3x more than integrations. B2B tech products often pay 30-50% premiums over consumer tech due to higher customer lifetime values.
The most important factor isn't follower count—it's audience purchase intent and engagement quality.
Benchmark CPMs vary by vertical.
Gaming: $15-$40 | Tech: $20-$50 | Lifestyle: $10-$30 | Beauty: $8-$25 | Finance: $30-$60
However, CPM alone is misleading—a $50 CPM creator who converts at 2% beats a $15 CPM creator who converts at 0.3%.
Calculate effective CPM by factoring conversion rates: (Creator Cost / Conversions) gives you true cost per acquisition.
For YouTube specifically, factor in long-tail views—a video that costs $10K but generates 500K views over 12 months has very different economics than one that peaks at 50K and dies.
+ 04 What Will It Cost?
Pricing questions.
Our fees, creator costs, and what to budget.
Transparent pricing. No surprises.
For brands: We work on a percentage of creator spend, typically 10-20%. Minimum engagement is $50K/month in creator budget.
For creators: 20% commission on deals we bring. No upfront fees. No exclusivity required.
We make more when you get better results. That's how it should be.
+ 05 What Results Can I Expect?
ROI questions.
What to expect, how we measure success, and realistic timelines.
Well-executed campaigns typically generate 2-5x ROAS. Top performers see 8-12x.
However, 60% of brands measure influencer marketing incorrectly, tracking vanity metrics instead of actual conversions.
The key factors determining ROI are: creator-audience fit, offer quality, attribution setup, and content authenticity.
Campaigns fail most often due to poor creator selection—choosing reach over relevance.
Our data shows the top 15% of creators in any campaign drive 70% of conversions. Finding them is what separates profitable campaigns from expensive experiments.
Effective attribution requires multiple layers.
Layer 1: Unique discount codes per creator
Layer 2: UTM parameters on all links
Layer 3: Dedicated landing pages
Layer 4: Post-purchase surveys ("how did you hear about us?")
Layer 5: Pixel-based tracking where possible
For YouTube specifically, track watch time correlation with site traffic spikes.
The biggest mistake: relying solely on last-click attribution. Multi-touch attribution models capture 30-50% more influencer-driven conversions.
Prioritize in this order:
Tier 1 (Conversion): Revenue generated, ROAS, cost per acquisition, conversion rate from influencer traffic.
Tier 2 (Engagement Quality): Click-through rate, watch time, comment sentiment, save/share rate.
Tier 3 (Awareness): Impressions, reach, brand mention growth.
Most brands over-index on Tier 3 because it's easy to measure—but it doesn't pay bills.
Set up proper attribution before launching so you can track what actually matters: did this creator drive purchases?
Reach measures exposure. Conversions measure business impact.
Reach: How many people saw the content—a vanity metric that doesn't indicate revenue.
Conversions: Actions that matter—purchases, signups, qualified leads.
A creator with 100K views and 50 conversions outperforms one with 1M views and 20 conversions—yet most brands would choose the latter based on reach.
Track both, but optimize for conversions. Reach without conversion is expensive awareness with no ROI.
Initial results appear within 48-72 hours of content going live.
This captures impulse conversions. However, full campaign impact takes 2-4 weeks as content continues generating views and the consideration window plays out.
YouTube content has the longest tail, often driving conversions 6-12 months after posting.
For accurate measurement, run campaigns for minimum 30 days before drawing conclusions.
Brand awareness effects compound over 3-6 months with consistent creator partnerships. One-off campaigns rarely deliver sustainable results.
Look beyond follower counts.
Key indicators of conversion potential:
High comment quality (questions about products, not just emojis)
Audience demographics matching your buyer persona
Previous sponsored content performance data
Authentic product usage history
Low bot/fake follower ratios
The most converting creators often have smaller but more engaged audiences than viral content creators. Analyze purchase intent signals, not vanity metrics.
It depends on your goals.
Micro-influencers (10K-100K): Higher engagement rates (3-6% vs 1-2% for macro), stronger audience trust, better cost efficiency—often 5-10x better CPM. Ideal for conversion-focused campaigns and niche products.
Macro-influencers (500K+): Provide reach, brand awareness, and social proof at scale. Better for product launches and brand building.
The optimal strategy for most brands: allocate 60-70% of budget to proven micro-creators for conversions, 30-40% to select macro-creators for awareness.
Look for these red flags:
Sudden follower spikes without viral content
Comment-to-like ratios under 1%
Generic comments (emojis, "nice!", "great content")
Followers from mismatched geographies
Engagement that drops sharply after the first hour
Following counts close to follower counts
Request analytics screenshots directly from creators showing traffic sources and audience demographics. Legitimate creators share this data readily. Those who hesitate are usually hiding something.
Ask these questions:
Do they show actual conversion data from past campaigns (not just impressions)?
Do they have proprietary creator vetting beyond public databases?
What's their creator relationship depth—can they get priority placement?
How do they handle attribution and reporting?
Do they take accountability for results or just deliver lists?
Red flags: Promising specific ROI numbers upfront, having hundreds of clients per account manager, or inability to explain their creator selection methodology beyond "we have a database."
// Ready to talk?
Still have questions?
We don't do scripted answers. Book a call and get the truth about whether we're the right fit for your brand.